Katie
by Dark Mistress Ivy
Summary: What is with the strange exchange student? Duo may have met his match.
1. Default Chapter

'Tis me again! 'Lo! This is the second in my six story series where all the Gundam pilots get girls their own ages. (yay!) *hugs each one of the poor dears*

Warnings: Once again mild. This doesn't even have the kissing that the first one did! I promise a decent Lemon scene in the next one though, Trowa is gonna get it on! Don't worry, I'm not graphic, I don't go into sizes or anything. __

If you don't like made up characters, really love Relena and Hilde, or just don't like me in general, don't read. I tend to Relena bash a little, but I keep it to a minimum. (I like Heero's IM screen name in Part 2.)

I forgot to warn on the last story, but this is like my own little alternative universe, war-less time sometime before Kushrenada dies and all the crap went down. You know what I mean.

I decided to split this one into parts because the last one was such a long read. Give your eyes a break!

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Katie (Part 1)

Katie followed Mr. Leilan, the Headmaster, down the empty halls of her new school. She clutched her bright orange notebook tightly to her chest and watched Mr. Leilan's hair dance wildly as he walked at a brisk, business-like pace. His hair was nearly gray all over, except for the spot on top of his head where there was no hair at all, giving him a monkish look. His hair stood nearly on end even with his attempts to wet it down. He was the kind of man who looked older then he was, a small belly beginning to protrude over his belt under his suit jacket. 

Mr. Leilan stopped in front of a classroom and waited for her to catch up. He opened the door and went inside. Katie stepped into the doorway but didn't enter the room. Perhaps thirty students sat in their desks. The seating was set up like an auditorium, each row back was a step higher then the row in front of it, two rows of stairs on either side leading up to the back. All of the students looked up from their textbooks and fell silent as the Headmaster stood before them. 

Mr. Leilan cleared his throat loudly in an official way that made it known that he was about to speak and everyone had better listen up, "Attention class, there's something I'd like to tell you." 

"Did someone finally figure out what the brown chunks in the school lunches were," someone asked. A few of the other students giggled behind their hands. 

Katie looked in to see who had spoken. It had been a boy with a long brown braid that hung down his back wearing the deep maroon school uniform, white starched shirt and black tie that all of the other males were wearing. 

"No Duo, that isn't what I was going to tell you." 

The boy named Duo snapped his fingers, "Damn." 

The Headmaster looked at him for a moment over his spectacles, which sat far down on his nose, but decided not to bother, "I am happy to announce that this class will be receiving a new student. She's a foreign exchange student from the colonies so I want all of you to be nice and polite to her…" 

Katie stopped listening to the Headmaster talking about her and busied herself by looking up at the nameplate on the door: Ms. Daniel, homeroom #23. 

Katie frowned, she really didn't know if she could survive this. She ran her fingers along the edge of her notebook, thinking. Maybe she didn't have to; maybe she could just turn around and leave. 

"…So I want all of you to give her a warm welcome and help her fit in." 

Katie turned her attention back to the classroom full of people. Mr. Leilan motioned her inside and she stepped up in front of the on-looking pairs of eyes. 

Ms. Daniel was a tall, young woman of perhaps twenty-six with hair the color of honey twisted up high on her head and a face that looked incredibly innocent, like she'd never had anything but a kind smile on it. She gave Katie one of those kind smiles and handed her a textbook, "Hello Katie, I'm very happy to have you in my class, you can take the empty seat over there by Elizabeth ." She pointed to a girl with short, dark hair in the front row. 

Katie nodded solemnly and took her seat. The Headmaster smiled at her and left, still walking as if he had somewhere important to be. After he was gone, the class started talking quietly amongst themselves. The girl, Elizabeth, smiled at Katie, trying to make friends. Katie ignored her, setting her notebook and textbook down on the desk. She stared down at her hands, which were folded, nicely in her lap. She felt too warm; her school uniform was choking her slowly. Even with her shoulder-length brown hair wound up in a loose bun, her neck began to sweat. The long sleeved white blouse under the maroon vest felt as if it was sticking to her skin. The pleated skirt that fell a little below her knees, the white socks, the brown loafers, they all suddenly started to make her burn up, and it felt itchy. She wanted to go change into cooler clothes that were better suited for the hot summer day that had risen up. Katie closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down. She pushed the book aside and opened up her notebook, pulling out her pen and turning to a clean piece of paper. She reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out her wire-rim reading glasses and set them on her nose. 

Ms. Daniel called for attention, standing up in front of the class, and turned to Katie, "Well, Katie, I'm sure everyone is interested in hearing your introductory speech." 

Katie looked up from her notebook and stared at the teacher blankly. 

"Oh, don't worry, Dear," Ms. Daniel said, "you won't be graded on it, just take about five minutes to tell us about yourself and where you came from, maybe tell what you think of Earth so far." 

Katie looked down at her paper, debating. She sighed and closed the orange notebook, tucking it safely under her textbook. She stood, smoothing down her vest, and took her place next to the teacher's desk to address the class. 

Katie looked out at her classmates with no fear and no expression on her face, "My name is Katie. I just transferred here from the colonies, Headmaster Leilan and his wife were…" she paused for a moment, "kind enough, to have me stay with them." 

No one said anything. Katie glanced at the teacher who motioned for her to keep going. But Katie didn't want to keep talking, she wanted to go sit down and continue writing in her notebook, actually, she wanted to walk right out the door and never come back. Suddenly, she found just the right words to keep talking. Katie took her glasses off and pocketed them. 

"When my school asked me if I would like to participate in a foreign exchange program, I thought it was a wonderful idea. I had an opportunity to leave the limited means of the colonies, and some poor boy from this school got to take my place there. However, I found out shortly after I arrived that this place is as infested with beings that are just as shallow and vapid as the people on the colonies." 

The teacher's smiled had slowly faded, but Katie kept right on talking. 

"You all think that perhaps I'm saying that I'm better then you, no, I'm just as narrow-minded as the next person, and you all know that everything I say is completely true in its entirety. Also, I believe that it is highly ludicrous to force a student, like me, to stand up in front of a group of people, much like yourselves, and deliver a speech on their opinions, exactly like what I am doing right now. None of you really understand anything that I am saying, nor do you really care. 

"It is by far a demeaning; degrading, and humiliating process to have a person that is already nervous and frightened beyond belief at the fact of being in a strange environment, stand up in front of a group of eyes, as if they were being judged. Headmaster Leilan showed me the science lab down the hall where you can dissect a dead frog if you so desire to stare down at something and cut it up after just meeting. 

"I am only being so forward because you have put me in a place of great discomfort, I don't know any of you by name and probably won't, even after several days, yet you all know me. I, like most people, don't enjoy being put in such a position of disadvantage, but it is by far too late to prevent it, so I might as well end there." 

Katie stepped away from the front of the room and sat down in her seat with every pair of eyes in the room on her. She opened her orange notebook and continued writing from where she had left off. 

The teacher stood up slowly, as if she was afraid she might faint. Her face had paled to the color of the chalk in the tray on her desk. She opened her mouth several times, trying to find words, but nothing came out. 

Ms. Daniel took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Katie, I think I owe you an apology, I never realized how it might make some people feel to get up in front of everyone and talk." 

Katie didn't look up, just continued writing as if she were the only one in the room. 

Mercifully, the bell rang and the teacher dismissed class for lunch. Katie got up as everyone began filing out the door. She tucked her books under her arm and headed for her locker. 

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Duo stood with a few guys to one side of the basketball court at lunch, scanning the groups of people that were sitting in little clusters at the tables. He spotted the new girl, Katie, sitting all by herself at a table, writing in her orange notebook. She turned to a clean page and paused for a moment. She slipped her glasses off, set them down on the notebook, and looked up to meet his gaze. Duo looked away quickly, but glanced back out of the corner of his eye. Katie still stared at him intently. 

Duo looked around at his friends, they were all staring at him, "What?" 

One of them, a tall guy named Tom smiled, "See anything you like over there? The dance is coming up soon you know…" 

Duo looked in the direction Tom pointed, at the table near Katie's, filled with giggling girls in their class. 

Duo raised his eyebrows, "Uh… sure, whatever you say…" 

He looked back over at Katie's table, but she was gone, he scanned the eating area and spotted her heading for the main halls of the school. 

"Hey guys, I'll see you later…" Duo jogged across the lunch area and into the building. He stopped short when he got inside, the hall was empty. 'Where did she go?' 

The library, it only made sense. He slipped inside and began walking down the rows, looking all over. 

"Why are you following me?" 

Duo jumped and whirled around to find Katie staring at him expectantly. 

Duo blushed, "I uh… I wasn't following you…" 

She raised her eyebrows, "Really? Then what are you doing in here at lunch, all of your friends are outside, no one is in here except for me." 

"Can't a guy come check out a book without being interrogated?" 

Katie eyed him suspiciously, "I'm surprised you even know what a book is, you look like some moronic basketball player that does nothing but make wise-cracks and good jump-shots." 

"Why are you being so mean to me?" Duo asked, "You don't even know me." 

"Aren't you on the basketball team?" 

"I'm the Captain, yeah…" 

Katie smirked, "Looks like I know you better then you thought." 

With that, she turned and exited the library, leaving the teen pilot of DeathScythe blinking after her. 

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Most guys, if they had a hell cat like Katie cross their paths, learned from their first encounter and stayed away, maintaining a safe and prudent distance… unfortunately for Katie, Duo was not like most guys and he seemed to forever be popping up right next to her. Especially after he found out where her locker was. 

On one such an occasion, he was leaning casually against a closed locker as she looked over her books, searching for which ones she would or wouldn't need for her next class and began doing her combination. 

"Man, that History test was killer, I barely got a C, what did you get?" 

Katie began putting books into her locker, not looking at him, "I got an A, I found it to be a very simple test." 

Duo gaped at her, "An A?! You must have studied all night, is that what that notebook is filled with, cheat notes?" 

"No." 

"What is in that notebook anyway?" Duo motioned in its general direction. 

Katie looked at him then, her eyes wide and blazing, "That's none of your damn business!" 

She slammed her locker shut and stalked away from a very puzzled Duo. 

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Duo was determined not to give up. The odd girl intrigued him, to the point where he wanted to see her outside of school. The only problem however, was that she refused to speak to him on a personal level. Or anyone else, no matter who he asked, no knew anything more about the girl then he did. She was withdrawn, she hadn't made any friends. She hadn't even made enemies, everyone just thought of her as the quiet girl that just wanted to be left alone. Some thought her a bit rude, but she had given them good reason. The only thing everyone told him was that whenever asked about what she was always writing in the notebook, she would become angry and flee. 

But as for Duo asking her out, he'd tried almost every method he could think of! 

The indirect approach: 

"My, what funny weather we're having…" 

Katie looked up from her place at her lonely lunch table, "Don't bother me right now." She closed her notebook and walked away. 

The subtle approach: 

"You know, a friend of mine is having a party, he said I could bring someone--" 

Katie closed her locker, "Not interested," and walked away. 

The direct approach: 

"Say, I was wondering if after the game you'd maybe like to go grab a bite to eat?" 

Katie shook her head, "No thanks." 

And finally, the ridiculously forward approach: 

"Hey gorgeous, how bout a date?" 

Katie blinked up at him, surprised, across the frog she was presently dissecting. Against her wishes, Duo had sat down with her to be her lab partner. He had looked a little green at the thought of dissecting something, so he'd let her do it. And then he'd laid all the cards out on the table. 

"What?" 

Duo grinned at her, "I said, how bout a date?" 

She frowned at him, her eyebrows knitting together, "Why do you keep pursuing me when I obviously don't like you?" 

He shrugged, "Can't take a hint, why don't you like me?" 

She set down the scalpel, deciding it best not to be holding a pointy weapon, in case he said something to set her off, "You're pushy, arrogant, and annoying." 

"Those are my best qualities though!" 

She smiled honestly and Duo's eyes widened, she never smiled, something was wrong, "Also, to take me out, you'd have to ask my guardian for permission, at the moment it's Headmaster Leilan, and I don't think you have the guts." 

Duo's jaw hit the table and she picked up the scalpel, going back to her carving, satisfied that she'd finally discouraged him. 

"I'll be over at eight to talk to him." 

The scalpel clattered in the stainless steel bowl as she lost her grip on it. The rest of the class looked up at the noise before slowly going back to their own dissecting. 

Duo smiled at her, "Okay?" 

Katie took a deep breath, "Duo, I really wish you would understand this, I don't want to go out with you or anyone else, I don't, so just leave me alone." She stood, grabbed her orange notebook, and left the room quickly. The instructor came over to the table, "Duo, what happened to Miss Katie?" 

Duo stared at his hands, "She felt ill, I guess the stench of dead frog got to her…" 

The instructor wrinkled his own nose at the amphibian cadaver, "Then, young Maxwell, I suggest you take over so that you don't both fail the assignment." 

Duo groaned... she'd never forgive him if she got an F because of him too. He picked up her dropped scalpel and began poking at the tiny corpse. 

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Duo could run circles around these punks, however, it had been more fun when Heero had been there, they had made a good team. He dribbled left, then dribbled right, he stopped to contemplate his next move. Duo was at the three-point line. The opposing team was tired and showing it, heck, even Duo's team was looking a little tired. He'd had them all chasing him around the court for the past two hours. Smiling slightly, he noted that the clock had three second left on it. He took the shot right before the buzzer rang and everyone held their breath as the ball sailed toward the hoop. Duo pretended to look anxious, though he knew that the ball wouldn't even hit the rim, it was a perfect shot, one he'd made millions of times. 

There was the telltale swish of a basket and the home team side of the gym erupted in hollers and applause. Duo's teammates patted him on the back before lifting him onto their shoulders. Duo smiled and waved like a celebrity to the crowd. He nearly fell off the shoulders he was sitting on when he saw Katie on the bottom rise of the stands; she was there! Looking up in confusion at the sudden noise from her ever-present orange notebook. 

Duo jumped back to the ground and headed toward the locker rooms with the rest of the team. He grabbed a towel and ran to hit the showers. Less then a minute later, he was dressed and heading back for the stands before the rest of the team had even gotten out of their sweaty uniforms. 

"Hey, Maxwell, what's up, you usually take the longest out of all of us, what's the rush?" someone yelled after him. 

Duo combed his fingers through his wet hair, re-braiding it as he ran. He had to catch her before she left. 

The crowd was slowly receding, but there were still a lot of people in the gym, making it impossible to spot Katie. Several people began telling Duo what a good basketball player he was. He thanked them politely and excused himself before he could be detained any longer. 

"There he is, Duo Maxwell! Come here son, I want you to meet someone." 

Duo turned to tell the Headmaster that he was kind of busy but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Katie standing next to the older man. Smiling charmingly, Duo made his way through the throng of people toward them, "Hello, Sir." He nodded politely, "…Katie." 

She didn't meet his eyes, simply looked past him, "Hello Duo." 

Headmaster Leilan didn't seem to notice her frigid response, "Duo, my boy! This is the Superintendent… he wanted to meet you, thinks you're a fantastic basketball player." 

Duo shook the man's hand, "Nice to meet you, Sir." 

The man looked down at Duo, his bearded face smiling, "The pleasure is mine young man, you'd never know it to look at me, but I was a pretty good player when I was younger… though not as powerful as you are." 

Duo smiled nervously, "Well, I love the game…" 

The man smiled again before talking to Leilan about funding some of the school's extra curriculum activities. The men began drifting toward the doors, "Come along Katie, we should get back, Mrs. Leilan will worry if we're both out late on a school night." 

Katie turned to follow them but Duo rushed forward, "I could walk her home, Sir!" 

Headmaster Leilan studied him for a moment, "Alright, if you like, but don't take too long about getting her home, it's really dark." 

Duo sighed in relief and turned to find Katie glaring him, "What?" 

"Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?" 

They walked out of the gym and were suddenly in the warm night air, "I think I remember you saying that once or twice, but it just doesn't seem to sink in at all, tell me again to leave you alone and maybe it'll stick." 

Katie stared at him; "You're making fun of me." 

Duo held up his index finger and thumb about an inch apart, "Just a little." 

She rolled her eyes, but he caught a small smile, which she tried her best to hide. 

"Come on," she told him, heading down the side walk, "Mrs. Leilan will see you walking me home. She'll assume the worst and give me a lecture on the evils that are boys and probably ask if I use protection… she thinks all the girls from the colonies have no moral up bringing…" 

Duo laughed a little, "So, did you see my winning three pointer?" 

"No," she said matter-of-factly, "I was writing, I completely forgot the game was still going on till people started screaming." 

"Oh…" he said, feeling dejected, "Then why did you even come to the game if you weren't going to watch?" 

Katie stopped walking to stare at him; "You've never met Mrs. Leilan, have you?" 

He shook his head and she continued walking, "The woman does not understand the meaning of teenager. She sees me as five years old; tries to get me to wear pink dresses and such. She also thinks that my studying all the time isn't enough, even with my strait A's to keep up, she feels that I need something more to take time away from what I want to do, she's trying to make me learn needle point." 

Duo made a face, "I'm sorry." 

Katie turned at the corner and he had to jog to keep up, "My options for the night were to either go to the basketball game, where it would be noisy and I could write, or stay home with her where it would be quiet. However, she would probably make me start a nine-patch quilt or something. I chose the one where homicide was less likely to occur on my part." 

Duo wasn't quite sure whether or not she was joking about the homicide, but decided it best not to ask. He was not on the receiving end of her wrath for once and found he rather liked that too, "You know, that's the most you've said at once since your introductory speech." 

"And notice how the teacher never calls on me to get in front of the class to give presentations anymore." 

Duo smiled, then nodded, "Hey, yeah, can you teach me how to horrify a teacher; I'll never have to get up in front of the class again." 

Katie slowed her pace to an easy walk, "Don't you like being up in front of everyone, you seem to like being the center of attention." 

"Well yeah, but not for boring assignments. I get good grades too, but I hate the work. Except for biology, we got a C- on that frog cause you ran out and I decided that after the spleen spit juice at me that I'd had enough." 

"Wrong, I came in after school and asked to make it up." 

Duo stared at her, "What? Well fine, don't offer for me to come make it up too…" 

"Why would I want you there, I hate you." 

She suddenly turned up a front walk that led to a big, white house and paused on the porch, "Goodnight Duo, don't bother me anymore." 

She disappeared into the house before he could respond. 

"Damn," he muttered. 

Duo slipped him hands into his pocket and began walking out of town; he made the walk twice a day, out to the woods that bordered the city. Not far in was an abandoned airplane hanger where he hid his DeathScythe and slept at night. He'd changed the school records long ago to say that he lived with a dad, who was gone on business trips often, in a house on a lake that wasn't too far from the abandoned hanger itself. 

"Hey Buddy," he called up to his Gundam as he walked into the small office he'd turned into a simple bedroom. He lay down on his cot without changing out of his clothes and stared at the ceiling. Damn, this one was of those times when he could use Heero here to punch him good and knock some sense into him, that girl was trouble… somehow, he knew there was something more to her then a rude little exchange girl. Unfortunately, Heero was on Katie's colony as an exchange student… living with his girl's family, having the time of his life no doubt. Heero always was the lucky one. The God of Death, pilot of DeathScythe, and one hell of a confused teen, rolled over onto his side and fell asleep.

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Comments and criticism accepted and flames are horribly, horribly laughed at. __

Thanks for reading, Dark Mistress Ivy


	2. katie2

'Tis me again! 'Lo! This is the second in my six story series where all the Gundam pilots get girls their own ages. (yay!)

Nothing bad or naughty... just my odd sense of humor. (Their IM screen names...)

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Katie (Part 2)

The next day being Saturday, most people didn't bother getting up early. However, strict church rules and orphanage habit driven into Duo's blood, found the lanky teen up with the sun and working on his Gundam. He took a break for lunch and did his homework, grudgingly, before returning to his friend. As he worked, he talked to DeathScythe, though no one else could hear him, Duo could, a lasting bond that had developed over time. 

"Man, girl problems are the worst, of course, it's not like you have to worry about that, heh heh." 

A bolt thumped onto Duo's head, "Ow!" 

The braided boy looked up at the open hatch where he'd left the tools, "Hey that wasn't nice." 

DeathScythe's eyes glowed to life, a brilliant red before going back to the dormant gray. 

"Okay, fair enough, I'm sorry," Duo said, patting the big Gundanium Alloy foot, "Hey, I better get going, that dance is tonight, huh?" 

The eyes glowed again, for longer this time, as Duo climbed up to retrieve the tools, for fear of anything else falling by "accident". 

"I know it's a long shot, but she might be there, the Headmaster always is to supervise, and she wouldn't want to stay home and sew…" 

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Duo scanned the makeshift dance floor in the gym from the side. It was probably the five millionth time his eyes had traveled along the scene, but he was determined to find her. 

A bit of orange caught his eye as he scanned the tables in the back. She wouldn't. It was a dance. A celebration. A party. 

She would, and she did. Sitting all alone at a table in the farthest corner was Katie, and she was writing in her notebook, as always. And to his surprise, she wore a pale blue dress, scoop neck with tank straps and no sleeves, which fell to her ankles. 

Duo made his way between the dancing couples toward the tables. As he got closer, he noticed that she wasn't writing for once, she was looking in a compact. 'I didn't think she was the type to wear makeup…' 

"Hi," he chirped. 

She snapped her compact shut quickly and tucked it into her notebook, "Don't ever sneak up on me like that!" 

He recoiled, "I'm sorry… I was just wondering if you'd like to dance…" 

She glared at him, "No, now go away." 

He shrugged, "Okay, but you needn't get all pissed at me, a lot of girls wear makeup." 

She blinked at him for a moment, "Well, makeup is a private thing, you should never sneak up on a girl when she's putting on makeup… the contents of a compact are personal…" 

Duo raised his eyebrows, "Geez, fine, but you were staring at it like it held the secrets of the universe, how could I get your attention?" 

She placed a possessive hand over her notebook, "Not the secrets of the universe, the Gundams are the secrets of the universe, and I could hardly fit one in my compact." 

Duo's eyebrows rose even higher at her mention of the Gundams, "You got a thing for Gundams? Or merely the pilots?" 

She glared even harder, "That is none of your business. And if you raise your eyebrows any higher, they'll be likely to fall off." 

He stared blankly at her before laughing, "Come on, I insist upon at least one dance." 

He had her hand before she could blink and pulled her after him, "What, no! Duo!" 

She tensed up at once when his arms went around her, setting her hands timidly on his shoulders, "One dance, then I'm going home." 

Duo smiled, "Deal. I'll walk you." 

"No, you won't." 

He stared at her, "You're this mad just because I startled you while you were checking your makeup?" 

She refused to look him in the eye, "Just stop mentioning my damn compact!" 

Duo shrugged, "Maybe I don't want to, maybe I've seen that compact somewhere before… in fact, it looks almost exactly like the one Lieutenant Colonel Lady Une always has…" 

Katie tensed immediately in his arms, "Where have you heard that name before?" 

Duo's eyes widened, other then the fact that she wanted him dead… "Um… the news, she's Treize Khushrenada's personal assistant too, right?" 

"I… I… I wouldn't know, excuse me!" she stuttered, pulling away from him and running from the room. 

"Damnit!" 

"Language, Maxwell," a passing teacher reminded him. 

Duo slowly dragged himself from the dance floor back to the table and sat down. He banged his head against the table a few times, "Stupid, stupid, stupid." 

He slammed his hand down on the table, "Stupid!" 

His hand brushed something bright and he looked down, it was her notebook, she'd forgotten it. That was a first. 

He picked it up and stood, as he did so, a folded piece of paper fluttered to the ground. Duo leaned down, retrieving it, noticing the dark pen writing that was noticeable through the paper. Should he? No. Definitely not. Well, maybe. Sure. He unfolded the paper and scanned the lines. It was a poem, free verse. Kind of creepy. In her elegantly scrawled handwriting it said: 

You must understand. 

Understand that in just a matter of time. 

A great power will find you. 

It is an unholy being and will make you what it will. 

You will follow, but only if you believe. 

Those who do not believe can not follow. 

Those who do not believe merely exist. 

Watch out, he's coming on his deadly flight. 

So I suggest. 

Beware. 

Take care. 

Death flies on silent wings for you tonight. 

Duo shuddered impulsively. That was too close to his job description not to be a little creeped out. But did she know he was a Gundam pilot? No, she would have asked to see the Gundam, or something. In spite of the intense curiosity that was burning now, Duo didn't open the notebook, mainly from fear of her creepy poem. He refolded it and slipped it inside as he headed down the deserted hall toward the lockers. 

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Katie's eyes were red and puffy the next morning as she walked into the school. She'd torn up the room she'd been given looking for her notebook, until Mrs. Leilan had made her go to bed. She'd tossed and turned all night, she knew Duo had it. He was probably reading it, every little thing she'd written in it about… all of it. 

She trudged over to her locker and opened the combination lock without even looking at it. She flipped open the door and her orange folder landed on the floor at her feet. She stared at it as if she'd never seen it before. Duo leaned against the locker near hers, "Hi ya." 

She picked up her notebook and stared at him, "How did this end up in there?" 

He grinned, "I've watched you do that combination how many times? You don't think I can memorize three little numbers?" 

"And in order, I'm impressed," she snapped, glaring at him. 

Duos stood smiling at her until her fierce expression made it slip then disappear, "What?" 

"Did you read anything in my notebook?" 

He shook his head, "No, of course not… except…" 

"What!" 

He held his hands up in defense, "I'm sorry, but that poem that you had folded up inside fell out and I didn't mean to, I swear, I didn't open your notebook, not a crack. It was an interesting poem though." 

She slammed her locker shut and ran from him, toward her homeroom. 

Which, incidentally, was his homeroom. 

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Duo stepped into the class just before the bell rang and looked around for her. She was no where to be seen. 

"Ms. Daniel, where is Katie?" 

The teacher looked up from the papers on her desk, "Hmm? Oh, she asked to go see the Headmaster." 

Duo shifted his weight from one foot to the other, "Ma'am, may I go get a drink of water?" 

The young woman nodded and waved for him to go. He ran from the room, toward the Headmaster's office. 

"Slow down Maxwell, you know better then to run in the halls." 

Duo stopped short at the sound of the Headmaster's voice, "Sir? What are you doing here?" 

The Headmaster smiled, "I work here, why are you out of class?" 

Duo shook his head to clear it, "Um… I just came out for a drink of water." 

"Very good, get it and return to class promptly," the Headmaster said, continuing on his way, in the opposite direction of his office. 

"Something's not right," Duo muttered to himself, stopping in front of the Headmaster's door. He pressed his ear to it; someone within was typing furiously. He knocked softly, "Katie, are you in there?" 

The typing stopped abruptly and he didn't hear anything for a moment. Duo opened the door slowly and found the room empty. The window was open, the curtain blowing in the wind. Duo went to the window and looked out, no one was around. Damnit. He turned to the computer, the screen was blank, but the computer itself was on. He flipped the screen on and stepped back in shock as his personal file popped up on the monitor. 

Footsteps sounded outside the hall and Duo quickly exited his file, turned off the computer, and hopped out the window just before the door opened, "Funny, I could have sworn I locked my office…" 

Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë 

Duo sat in front of DeathScythe later that day, his back to the open hanger door. It was a beautiful afternoon, but he hardly noticed it, he instead, was trying furiously at his computer. 

HotDuoMan: Heero, could you perhaps search the databanks of your school and do a check on this girl? Please, old buddy, old pal? 

**_Death2Relena:_**_ I'm doing just that at the moment. Don't call me that. _****

HotDuoMan: Thanks man, this is beginning to creep me out, she was in my personal file. She broke the codes! 

**_Death2Relena:_**_ School codes are simple to crack. Child's play in fact. _****

HotDuoMan: I know that, but still, do you think she could be an assassin here for me? 

**_Death2Relena:_**_ If she were an assassin, she would have tried to kill you already. Or she could be very stupid… or very good. _****

HotDuoMan: Maybe, I don't know, I wish I'd read her notebook now, but I didn't want to snoop in her stuff. 

**_Death2Relena:_**_ Idiot, take every opportunity to gather information. _****

HotDuoMan: Well excuse me! I didn't realize she was gathering information on me till this morning! 

**_Death2Relena:_**_ Always assume everyone around you could be a spy, trust no one. _****

****

HotDuoMan: What about Lily? 

**_Death2Relena:_**_ Lily's… Lily's different, she has nothing to do with this. _****

HotDuoMan: How is she anyway? 

**_Death2Relena:_**_ Hi Duo! I'm doing great! ß(Lily) _****

HotDuoMan: Hey Lily! Tell Heero to stop badgering me! 

**_Death2Relena:_**_ Wuss, tell me yourself. _****

HotDuoMan: Hey, I just thought she could help cause she's got you whipped and all… 

**_Death2Relena:_**_ I am not whipped. I don't have to help you, you know. _****

HotDuoMan: I'm sorry man, this is just bothering me so bad, what does the school file say about her? 

**_Death2Relena:_**_ Nothing. _****

HotDuoman: What do you mean nothing? 

**_Death2Relena:_**_ Meaning she doesn't have a school file, she never went here. She lied. I figured as much. _****

HotDuoMan: Shit. 

**_Death2Relena:_**_ Precisely. _****

HotDuoMan: I'm in trouble, aren't I? 

**_Death2Relena:_**_ I would suggest you relocate somewhere else, NOW.  
  
_****

HotDuoMan: Why? She doesn't know where I am. 

**_Death2Relena:_**_ I'm sure she can find out easily enough if she really is after you. _****

Duo sat back, popping his fingers. She might be able to find him… He was about to type a response, except a noise overhead caught his attention, a cracking noise. Followed by a crash, a scream, then something landed in his lap, hard. 

"Ow!" 

"Ow!" 

"Damnit!" 

"Damnit!" 

"Stupid roof, you should get it fixed!" 

"The roof is fine as long as no one crashes through it!" 

Katie stared down at Duo from her place, pinning him down. 

Duo stared up at Katie from his place, being pinned down. 

Neither one spoke for a moment. Duo raised one hand to rub the back of his head, "Nice of you to drop in, I do have a front door." 

She glared at him, "Shut up." 

He smiled and turned his head to the side to study his laptop, "Hey, could you tell Heero I'm okay, he's typed my name about a million times, he might call someone to come out here if he thinks I've been killed." 

She side glanced at the screen before standing, pulling a gun out of the back of her jeans as she did so, "Tell him everything is fine and you have to go." 

Duo sat up, the world spinning as his head began to throb, "Ow… my head hit the floor hard." 

"Shut up," she said, her voice level, gun still pointed at him. 

Duo turned the screen to him, meaning she had to move around behind him if she wanted to monitor his typing. 

**_Death2Relena:_**_ Duo. Duo. Duo. Duo. Duo. _****

****

HotDuoMan: Hey man, sorry about that, a friend of mine… dropped in. You typed my name enough times Heero, were you worried about me? 

**_Death2Relena:_**_ You wish. _****

****

HotDuoMan: Aww… you don't love me anymore… 

**_Death2Relena:_**_ Never did to begin with, Lily says be careful, I would tell you to also, but I could care less. Signing off. _****

****

Duo signed off and closed his laptop, "Happy?" 

"No, turn around, I make it a point not to shoot people in the back." 

He didn't turn around, "Can I ask you where you came from?" 

She sighed, "Sure, why not? I work for Lieutenant Colonel Lady Une, as you may have guessed. My compact is my communication link to her, I thought you'd found out, that's why I checked your file. I wanted to see if you were whom you said you were, or if maybe you were the one I've been searching for. Lucky me, you are the one I've been searching for." 

"Aww… I feel so special…" 

"Shut up, put your hands on the Gundam and don't make any sudden movements." 

Duo raised his hands slowly, placed them flat against DeathScythe and spread his feet, shoulder width apart, "Yes, Ma'am." 

She kicked his feet farther apart and frisked him quickly and efficiently, "You can turn around now." 

"I don't want to." 

"I said I made it a point not to shoot people in the back, I may make an exception." 

He still didn't turn around, "Why are you here?" 

"To kill you." 

"Then why haven't you?" 

"Are you that eager to die?" 

"I'm the God of Death, I'm not afraid of it, if that's what you mean." 

"That isn't what I meant." 

"Well then what did you mean?" 

"Does it matter?" 

"Wouldn't you like to know." 

"Duo, you're making me lose my patience." 

"Trying to." 

She let silence fall over the hanger before she let out a shaky breath, "I shouldn't say this, I mean, you aren't going to live long enough to care… but I really don't want to do this to you." 

Duo looked back over his shoulder. She was standing a few feet behind him, still pointing the gun, but her face was softer, less ferocious, "Really?" 

She nodded, "Yeah, in spite of how annoying you are, I kind of like you. You never gave up on me, no matter how rude I was, why?" 

Duo shrugged, "I like you, you're attractive, smart, and very courageous. I can now add incredibly dangerous and a little scary to that list." 

There was a beeping sound and Katie fumbled around in her pockets, "Katie here." 

There was a soft voice coming from her compact, but Duo couldn't make out what it was saying. 

"Yes, I am in the hanger where he stored the Gundam, but he must have gotten wind of my motives, he cleared out. pause Yeah, I'm sure he hasn't been here for a while, probably left early this morning… pause Yes Ma'am… I know you're disappointed and… pause Yes, I am aware that it is not good for my health to disappoint you… pause I will take full responsibility for my failure in front of Khushrenada… pause Yes, yes I will, thank you…" 

She closed her compact with a click. 

Duo looked over his shoulder again, "Can I turn around now?" 

Katie put her gun away, "Yeah, sure." 

He did so, and still making no sudden movements, crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against DeathScythe, "So what happens now?" 

She looked up at his Gundam, her expression clearly said that she was impressed, "Well, I've bought you time, they have no idea as to where you could be headed, and after I leave, I won't be able to find out. I've been given new mission orders, so you needn't worry about me following you. We may bump into each other later, but not soon." 

"New mission orders?" 

"Yes," Katie said, "I am now ordered to track down Quatre Reberba Winner. Don't worry, this one is only information, I'm not supposed to kill anyone, merely spy a little." 

Duo raised his eyebrows, "You're lying, you'd never tell me your orders, what if I told Quatre?" 

Katie shrugged, "I could very well be lying, then again, I may not be. And if you do tell Quatre, he'll triple the guards, but that just makes it more fun for me." 

She turned and walked out the open hanger door without so much as a second glance, "Can't believe it, the pilot of DeathScythe, God of Death. He's killed hundreds of people and he got squeamish about dissecting a frog. Unbelievable!" 

Duo ran out of the hanger, but she had disappeared. She couldn't have gone far, she'd still hear him, "The spleen spit juice at me!" 

Her laughter rang out, echoing through the forest making it impossible to tell where she was, but she was heading away, and that was what was important. 

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Far out in space on one of the many colonies, Heero Yuy was stretched out on his bed in a room that had once been a guestroom, staring at his computer screen. Lily stood in the doorway, watching him. He knew she was there and motioned her over, his eyes never leaving the screen. 

She sat on the edge of the bed next to him, "Did Duo sign back on and tell you what happened with that Katie girl?" 

He nodded, scrolling down, "Yes, she actually lied to her commanding officer and let him get away, he was lucky." 

"That's good," Lily murmured, studying Heero's deadpan profile closely. 

Heero made an, "Mmmmhmmm," noise. 

"Then why don't you sound like it's a good thing?" 

"I'm rereading the conversation, there's something I really don't like about it." 

Lily rested her chin on his shoulder to read the screen, "What part, maybe I can help." 

Heero scrolled down quickly, "The last part." 

Lily's eyes narrowed in concentration as she scanned the last few lines. 

**_HotDuoMan:_**_ First time I've ever had a gun pointed at me and I was actually sure I'd die… then nothing happened. _****

****

Death2Relena: Well, I'm sure Lily will be happy you're not severely maimed or dead. 

**_HotDuoMan:_**_ What about you, you don't care? *Pouts* _****

****

Death2Relena: You know that I don't. 

**_HotDuoMan:_**_ Oh, well fine… By the way, next time you talk to Quatre, tell him to beef up security a bit around his place, k? Signing off. *Snickers* I pulled a Heero! Signing off, look at me, I'm the Perfect Soldier, signing off! LOL! HAHAHAHAAHAHAH!! _****

****

"Hmm… Other then being over dramatic, and making fun of how serious you are," Lily observed, "which is normal for Duo… nothing is weird. But what did he mean about Quatre beefing up security?" 

"That's what I don't like about the conversation." 

"Lily, Heero, dinner's ready!" 

"Coming Mom!" Lily stood up and stretched, "Coming Heero?" 

"In a minute," he told her, closing his laptop. 

She smiled and nodded, leaving the room. 

Heero stared at the empty doorway for a moment before leaning over to pick up the phone. He told the galaxy operator to connect him to Earth and rattled off the number from memory. As he waited for the connection to be completed, he glanced over at his laptop, "Damnit Duo." 

**THE END…??**

**____________________________________________________________**

Okay, comments and such are much appreciated. Flames are laughed at.

Respond as you see fit.

Thanks for reading, Dark Mistress Ivy


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